HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- While Jimmie Johnson was inching closer to motor sports history and Denny Hamlin was celebrating his first win of the season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup finale, a handful of drivers were quietly saying goodbye.

Mark Martin and Ken Schrader ended their Cup careers, and Kevin Harvick ran his final race with Richard Childress Racing before heading off to Stewart-Haas for the 2014 season.

Other veterans such as Jeff Burton and Dave Blaney made what could be their final Cup starts. Bobby Labonte's swan song may have been last week at Phoenix. Burton and Labonte have no rides and Blaney has said he wants to race more sprint cars and watch his son Ryan's career blossom.

Martin, who at 54 is considered the most talented driver never to win a Cup title, tweeted his thanks before the race:

"Thanks again to all the #NASCAR fans for the nice comments and support. Now it's time to start a new chapter."

Thanks again to all the #NASCAR fans for the nice comments and support. Now it&#39;s time to start a new chapter.

Martin was flooded with praise on Twitter from fellow drivers. Burton called him an "intense competitor with an equal amount of values. Made entire sport better through his actions." And Joey Logano said he was his favorite driver as a kid.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, who spent half a season in NASCAR, paid his respects from Scotland, calling Martin in a tweet "a total legend and one of the best people I've ever met."

Martin's opportunities outside of the car will be with Stewart-Haas Racing, where Tony Stewart has a ton of projects for Martin to work on in a role that has yet to be formalized.

Since breaking his leg in August, Stewart has been able to watch his drivers from the sidelines and offer input. He believes Martin will be a tremendous asset in a similar role, particularly with Danica Patrick.

Martin also can be a sounding board for SHR competition director Greg Zipadelli, Stewart said.

"I think Mark is a great liaison between us as drivers and the crew chiefs and Zippy," Stewart said. "Mark's got so much practical knowledge and experience. Mark is good with people and I think that is a lot of value to me. I think it's a little easier for Mark to help Danica.

"But I think Mark can make me better. You're crazy if you're a driver and think you can't learn and that you can't be better. Having someone like Mark do that, if he sees I'm not driving in the corner hard enough or I'm arcing my entry too much or not enough, whatever. Mark can see that and tell you to think about this."

Burton, who also is leaving RCR, will be replaced by Ryan Newman, who comes over from Stewart-Haas Racing.

Burton, 46, told USA TODAY Sports earlier in the week: "Yeah, I think it's going to be different, and that's OK. When I came in, a spot was created for me somehow; part of that is through older guys moving on. It's just the natural cycle of things."

A.J. Allmendinger replaces Labonte in the No. 47 of JTG Daugherty Racing and Michael Annett will take over the No. 7 Chevrolet for Blaney at Tommy Baldwin Racing

Harvick 'really excited about my future'

Harvick won 23 Cup races with Childress, including the 2003 Brickyard 400 and 2007 Daytona 500. Twelve of the 23 came in the last four years and four came this season.

"I'm happy with everything that we have been able to accomplish as a group," Harvick said after finishing 10th. "We had a great year knowing what the circumstances were and we have won a lot of races. A lot of the marquee races.

"There is a lot that has happened with everything and everybody at RCR, and really proud about my past and everybody who has been involved in it and really excited about my future."

Harvick, who finished third in the championship, made his Cup debut with RCR in 2001 at Rockingham Speedway. He took the seat after Dale Earnhardt died on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

Kurt Busch, who said farewell to Furniture Row Racing -- the first one-car team to qualify for the Chase -- will join Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing next season.

"This was not the way we wanted to end the season," Busch said. "We gave it our best effort but we just didn't have the handling to run up front. I really wanted to give these Furniture Row guys a strong finish. I am disappointed right now, but tomorrow I am going to look back at this season and be very proud of what we were able to accomplish."

Martin Truex Jr., who lost sponsor NAPA amid the team orders scandal at Richmond International Raceway that saw him stripped of a slot in the Chase although it was his teammates who rigged the finish, ran his finale with Michael Waltrip Racing.

He'll take Busch's seat next year.

David Wilson, president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development, tweeted: "Thank you @MartinTruexJr56 & @napaknowhow for a great run. You will always be a friend to @toyotaracing & we wish you nothing but the best."

Eight years after Juan Pablo Montoya came into NASCAR amid great hype and high expectations, he quietly closed out his stock car career with unmet goals and his 14-year relationship with Chip Ganassi at a crossroads.

Montoya is headed back to the IndyCar Series. He will drive for Roger Penske next season, a job he jumped at in September after Ganassi informed him a month earlier he wouldn't be bringing him back in 2014.

Shortly after Montoya finished 18th, his new boss sent him a tweet:

"Hey @jpmontoya, welcome aboard!!" Penske Racing president Tim Cindric wrote. "Ready to get to work?? Got some new clothes for you too!!"

Hey @jpmontoya, welcome aboard!!Ready to get to work?? &#10;&#10;Got some new clothes for you too!!

Cindric was referring to Montoya's new assignment as a driver for Team Penske, the IndyCar side of Penske Racing, where Montoya will join Will Power and Helio Castroneves next season, bringing him back to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since he won it in 2000.

His NASCAR record shows two wins in 252 starts — both victories on road courses — and he hasn't been to victory lane since 2010. He never won on an oval and his best season was 2009, when he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and finished eighth in the final standings.

Many will call his NASCAR stint a bust and ultimately remember Montoya for the explosive fireball created when he crashed into a jet dryer during the 2012 Daytona 500.

But Stewart said there's no denying Montoya's talent. He won the Indianapolis 500, a CART championship and seven Formula One races.

"He can drive," Stewart said. "So who knows what was the missing piece of the puzzle for him over there? Something wasn't in the equation."

Montoya was careful when discussing Ganassi.

"I decided to come here and do it with Chip, and we knew from Day 1 — he told me it was going to be an uphill battle and it was," Montoya said. "We worked as hard as we could. If you look at all the years of Ganassi, the only guy who made the Chase was me. From that point of view, I'm happy.

"I think the hardest thing over the years was the amount of changes. There was just no consistency."